Alfie Beat It: Manchester's Band Split

Sadly folks, it is true. The hefty cardigan has unravelled itself, and Alfie are no more. The band, who formed back in the late 1990s when music was a bit rubbish really, have called it a day following their last ever show in Manchester's Live Café. The band issued a couple of parting statements to NME, with bassist Sam Morris saying that "The reasons behind the decision are varied, but the main feeling was that it had seemed to run its course. As you know, we have always endeavoured to stay 'true to ourselves' musically, and we perhaps somewhat naively thought that this would be sufficient to catapult us into the upper stratosphere of the popular music world. It wasn't, and unfortunately, although it's true that a single note of one of our songs holds more worth than ten thousand James Blunt albums (a chilling thought) this has never been apparent to the record buying public as a whole.

"We wanted it to work, you wanted it to work, the record company wanted it to work. So the question remains: where did everyone else's loving go, for frig's sake? Well I don't know where their loving went, but I know their cash went straight into the crazy frog's wackily amphibious bank account." Converting from Alfie to Crazy Frog is a touch Damascene, is it not?

Lee Gorton gave further depth to the split, adding that "Some of the band felt we weren't getting the breaks anymore. Not that you're owed 'em mind, but it's easy to lose heart when you've been trying to do things your own way for so long yet still not getting the response you're after. Everyone's human and people have a right to worry about what's happening with their lives... it's hard to keep faith that 'everything'll be alright', (which has been my mantra from day one), when it feels, ultimately, like no-one's listening." The poor dear!

Gorton went on to thank the bands loyal fans, mind, saying that "You lot, our faithful fans, being the exception of course. Ever loyal throughout, always providing that glimmer of hope and humanity when things have felt tough. I've been equally touched, entertained and encouraged whilst silently monitoring countless, seemingly trivial rows on the message board over the years. We've clearly meant quite a lot to some of you and knowing that and believing someone cares has provided priceless motivation!"

source: playlouder